Manatee Girls Advance in Class 5A-District 10 Soccer Tournament

Members of the girls soccer team asked head coach George Ameres questions that could have waited another 90 minutes or so, because Port Charlotte gave the host Hurricanes all they could handle before dropping a 3-2 decision on Saturday afternoon in the first round of the Class 5A-District 10 tournament.

A pair of first-half goals in a span of two minutes from freshman Michaella Krebser and senior Julia Pignanelli and another goal from Pignanelli in the 67th minute enabled Manatee to move into Tuesday night’s tournament semifinal match at No. 1 seed Naples Gulf Coast.

Port Charlotte, which suffered a 7-0 loss in its last meeting against the Canes on Jan. 7, cut two-goal deficits to one in each half with scoring strikes from Tiffany Thompson and captain Sara Monzeglio.

“That was tough,” Ameres said following the match. “I think our girls were looking past this game. Unfortunately for us, it was a look-ahead type of game. Prior to the game, they were asking me, ‘Where’s our next game?’ and ‘Where are we playing after this?’ I think we took this game a little too lightly and didn’t come out to play like we did a couple of nights ago (in a Senior Night win over visiting Braden River).”

The Pirates actually had the first scoring chance of the match in the sixth minute. A ball played from the right side was crossed within 10 yards of the Manatee goal before a defender got a foot on the ball and forced a partially blocked shot that rolled just left of the left upright.

It took a while for Manatee to get going, but two of its four shots in the first half resulted in scores. Krebser deposited the ball in the lower right corner of the net in the 12th minute, while Pignanelli dribbled past a defender and fired a shot that found the upper left corner of the net.

“I think that it was turnover in our half of the field,” Pignanelli said about the play that resulted in her first goal. “We just made a good couple of 1-2s, like wall passes, and somebody just flicked it right to me. I just managed to take a touch between two of the defenders and I just used my speed to run by her.”

Pignanelli’s second goal was set up by an Erin Mulrine’s free kick from approximately 19 yards away from the goal. The play showed that Manatee is making progress with its set plays, which was one of Ameres’ points of emphasis coming into the match.

“On that one, coach told me to make that specific run, and he told (Mulrine) to drop it in a little bit right in the (penalty kick) area,” Pignanelli said. “So, I had to take advantage of that opportunity. You can’t miss that type of opportunity because Erin Mulrine made a perfect ball and dropped it in good.”

The spirited Port Charlotte team made the final few minutes and stoppage time interesting with Monzeglio’s goal.

“Their girls came out and played,” Ameres said. “They could have hung their heads, rolled over and played dead so to speak, especially after the last (meeting between the two teams). They could have come out and been discouraged, but they didn’t. They showed a lot of heart and a lot of passion, and they threw everything they had at us. They really made it a challenge for us.”

Manatee will look to extend its winning streak to five and avenge a 1-0 regular-season loss to Naples Gulf Coast on Tuesday. The Canes have scored 17 goals and given up three goals over the last four matches.

“At the beginning (of the season), I think everybody was excited about soccer,” Pignanelli said. “Then, everybody got a little too into it. A lot of people kept getting big heads, but I feel like that we’re settled down right now.

“We’ll get the right opportunity here in districts.”